Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Assumes New Role, Seeks Same Goal At Ivy Championship Meet
March 01, 2011 | Men's Swimming and Diving
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During its last two Ivy League championship victories, the Princeton men's swimming and diving team has been in complete control from beginning to end. After two losses in the last five weeks, though, the Tigers know their task this weekend will be a much greater challenge.
Princeton will compete in the 2011 Ivy League Championships, held at Harvard's Blodgett Pool, this Thursday-Saturday. Like the women's meet this past weekend, there will be preliminary sessions at 11 a.m. and championship sessions at 6 p.m. You can follow the meet online with several of the links at the top of this story.
Princeton will be trying to strike back at a couple of historical trends this weekend. Since 2003, neither Harvard nor Princeton has won an Ivy League championship meet in its rival's pool. Only once since 2003 has the team that lost the H-Y-P meet gone on to win the Ivy League Championship.
Of course, neither will mean a thing when the first 500 prelim begins.
The two-time defending Ivy League champion Tigers are rested, refreshed and ready to compete against the Ivy League as it seeks its third straight conference meet for the first time since winning five straight from 1987-91. Here is an event-by-event preview of the championship meet.
FREE
One of the biggest reasons Princeton cruised to the 2010 Ivy League championship was its dominance in the sprints. In both the 50 and the 100, Princeton placed five of the top six finishers in the championship finals. While Columbia's Adam Powell may have won both individual titles, the Tigers were doing a number on the team competition.
The same level of dominance likely won't apply this season, but Princeton will still be depending on its sprinters to pick up key points.
Powell remains the premiere sprinter in the league, but the Tigers still bring a wealth of talent into the weekend. Junior Matt LaMonaca has the league's third-best time if the 50 (20.43) and the fourth-best time in the 100 (45.21). Junior teammate Colin Cordes is sixth in the 50 (20.65) and third in the 100 (45.08). Senior Geoff Faux was Princeton's lone NCAA qualifier last year, doing so in the 50; he currently ranks fourth in the league with a time of 20.44.
How Princeton matches up with the powerful Crimson freshman duo of Oliver Lee and Chris Satterthwaite will be a key to watch over the weekend. Lee currently ranks second in the 50 and fifth in the 100, while Satterthwaite ranks second in the 100. It would be a big swing if Princeton could win both the 200 and 400 free relays, where it is currently seeded first.
As the distance gets longer, the gap gets even narrower between the two schools. Both have three of the top seven times in the 200, with each trailing Columbia's Hyun Lee. Cordes ranks second overall in 1:38.26, while senior co-captain Colin Hanna is third in 1:38.91. Two Harvard freshmen, Satterthwaite and Spenser Goodman round out the top five.
Princeton junior Travis McNamara is the Tigers' third in the top seven (1:39.66), but his strength is in the greater distances. His 500 time of 4:27.05 is the best in the Ivy League by more than a second, and he has the experience of winning the 2009 title on his side. Hanna (third, 4:29.40) and freshman Paul Nolle (fourth, 4:29.99) aren't far behind, although the Crimson counters with the other three in the top six.
The Crimson has the edge in both the 1000 and 1650, with freshman Wes Stearns ranking first in both and sophomore teammate ranking in the top three. The Tigers will depend on the likes of McNamara and Nolle to keep the point swing from being too great in the distance events, where the Crimson saw its biggest edge last season.
BACK
Princeton sophomore Kaspar Raigla is one of the top contenders for the 100 title after finishing second last season and recording the second-best time in the Ivy League (49.97) this season. Cordes is the favorite in the 200 back, a title he won in 2010; his time of 1:46.99 is the best in the league entering the meet.
Beyond those two, it will be important for Princeton to score big points in these events with multiple championship finalists. In the 100, the Tigers have the ninth- (junior Robert Coe, 50.65), 10th- (freshman Adam Lebovitz, 50.66) and 12th-best times (junior Charlie Wang, 50.89); if two of those three could move into the top eight, it would be a big point swing.
Princeton seems more of a favorite in the 200 with five of the top six times. Harvard's Robert Newell is just behind Cordes, but senior Colin Hanna (1:47.41), Lebovitz (1:48.39), freshman Nicholas Beaulieu (1:48.59) and Coe (1:48.60) make up spots three through six. The Crimson has several just outside the top eight, so the Saturday preliminary will be a key to the weekend.
BREAST
Princeton junior Jon Christensen and Penn junior Brendan McHugh have been championship final rivals since 2009, and there is little reason to suspect anything different this year. Christensen comes into the weekend with the best time in both events (100, 54.48; 200, 1:58.15), while McHugh is second in each event.
Tiger freshmen K.J. Park and Eric Materniak are contenders for both championship finals. Park has top-five times in both events, including the fourth-fastest time in the 100 (55.77), while Materniak is in the Top 10 in both, including eighth in the 200 (2:04.30).
FLY
Junior Charlie Wang is the Ivy League leader entering the 100 fly competition with a time of 48.53, while a pair of teammates are in the Top 10. Junior Michael Monovoukas is sixth in 49.33, while classmate Adlai Pappy is ninth in 49.81.
The 200 fly has been a challenge for Princeton this season, and with it being the 19th of 21 events this weekend, the Tigers could need to scrape together as many points as possible to stay in the hunt. Senior Brett Lullo has the team's best time (9th, 1:50.68), while Pappy is 11th in 1:50.90. Those two are Princeton's only representatives in the Top 25, so if either or both could make the championship final, it would be a timely bonus.
IM
Christensen and Hanna are currently 1-2 in the 200 IM, with Christensen leading the field with a time of 1:47.24. Park is seventh in 1:51.55, which could give Princeton three championship finalists.
Hanna, whose 200 IM time is 1:49.25, leads the field in the 400 IM with a time of 3:50.04, though Harvard has the deeper crew of Top 10 times. A championship berth for Materniak would be important in an event that could be a momentum swing for the home team.
DIVING
Last season, Princeton freshman Stevie Vines placed second in both the 1- and 3-meter diving competitions. Sometimes, that is enough to win you Ivy League Diver of the Meet honors.
Unfortunately, Harvard freshman Michael Stanton won both events and took the honor. Now that both are sophomores, they are ready to resume their rivalry. Princeton has two other championship final contenders in freshman Mark O'Connell and junior Tom Wells.